Secretary-general of Communication Association of China

Yang Ruiming

We sailed out of Ushuaia by “Silver Explorer” under the sunset in February 20, 2013. For me, the Antarctica, of 14 million square kilometers, is just a fan-shaped pattern on the satellite map. Under the boundless sky, this “seventh continent” belongs to all mankind, which is like white edelweiss, blooming quietly on the blue waters.

We sailed across the trilling Drake Passage. When the first floating ice on Bransfield channels drifting across the porthole of the cruise quietly, Antarctica, as the edelweiss still looming in my mind, became the glaciers, snow and gentle waves within reach.

Ice is the stretch of mountains and valleys, the grand “Arc de Triomphe” floating above the ocean and the tranquil “natural barrier”. Snow is the waterfall flowing from the rock for billions of years and the crystal pearl under the sunlight. Clouds, which pervade between snow mountains and ocean, are like fog, yarn and skirts dancing above the sky. The ocean, soft like silk, intersects with the blue light from glaciers and floating ice. It changes the color and sways the thousands of years’ glaciers in the breeze……

On the South Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula, from Aitcho Island to Gerlache Channel, Cuverville Island to Lemaire Channel, Paradise to Neko Bay, and Pleneau Island to Whalers Bay…… The nature has created unrivalled weathers in Antarctica, which are like magnificent and quiet symphonic poems echoed in the vast ice field and lonely channel. Only holding our breath and gazing silently, can we hear its smoothness and stretch, purity and beauty as well as its depression and lingering, deep and sorrow in the total quietness.

However if we don’t let ourselves return to the quiet and pure nature from the noisy and restless world, which is so-called settle mind as still water, then we can’t hear the most moving melody of Antarctica as well as enjoying its leisure and purity of returning to the original nature. Only we settle our heart down, live in tranquility and be indifferent to fame, listen to the nature without distractions in silence and find ourselves, can we understand the wisdom and true essence it contains.

We face Antarctica just as Thoreau facing Walden Lake. We listen to the song of ice and snow and the narration of waves in the silence. In front of its purity, we asked ourselves: whether we have lost the precious treasure in life because of chasing for fame and gains or whether we have lost the direction and meaning of life because of being puzzled by the complicated life. The world seems to be stagnated in the time. Only the clear echoes of Antarctica, which flow into our souls and clean our souls like spring water in the early morning, can let us look for our spiritual home again.

If the Ancient Greek sage Aristotle didn’t look up at the sky in 350 AD and didn’t make a hypothesis, which is so-called that “only a huge land in the southern end of the earth can keep the balance of the earth”. It’s not difficult to imagine that Antarctica, the only ice continent without aborigines living for billions of years, might be a harmonious but “isolated” existence created by nature forever.

After all, the unusual but amazing thoughts of Aristotle leaded the passion and dream of mankind and finally they were proved by the heroic epics written by western explorers. When human civilization sailed to this remote ice continent, the fortune of Antarctica seems not to be an “isolated” world anymore. The simple and holy, lonely and fragrant “edelweiss” is doomed to care and guard each other with human civilization.

The glory of reaching the Antarctic pole for the first time by Amundsen and other people who have experienced all kinds of hardships was engraved on Antarctica. The “greatest tragedy” of Scott and “the greatest failure” of Shackleton were also engraved. They symbolized great and noble humanity, which was once shone on the Antarctic ice continent covered with snow. But in the history of Antarctica, it also recorded the crime and cruelty of human, including hunting whales, seals even penguins. Besides, it even recorded the scramble for hegemony through enclosure, showing all sorts of ugly behavior.

British explorer Shackleton said, I believe that exploring the unknown land is the natural instincts of mankind. But the only failure is that we don’t explore anymore. Maybe influenced by Shackleton’s spirit, human beings have never stopped to conduct scientific exploration and geographic adventure in Antarctica from navigation times to space age and from industrial civilization to postmodern civilization. Although the signing of international conventions such as Antarctic Treaty have restrained human’s attempt to be greedy, the evil inside humanity and the deterioration and out-of-control of the global environment and ecology, even the shadow of war and conflict still threaten the pure and clean land like a plague. Human beings are suffering an unprecedented dilemma and crisis, which also influence this resource-rich continent.

There’s no doubt that we hope science and rationality will open up a path to happiness and wish the dream of world peace and natural harmony to guard every continent on the earth. But in today’s world, it is better to say that we should save human’s soul first rather than saving the world. If what we yearn for is “people, poetic dwelling” said by Heideggen, how can we create a poetic dwelling for the world before finding one for our souls and spirits? And how can we save the world that may be destroyed because of human’s desire?

 Therefore, we have to calm down and listen to Antarctica again. Listen to its call for nature, human and future. Let its echo awake us and precipitate our mind.